A Look At OS X Yosemite And iOS 8.1
by Brandon Chester on October 27, 2014 8:00 AM EST
Introduction
It has been a busy year for Apple, although one could argue it has been more of a busy few months. The yearly updates for most of Apple's products now occur in September and October, and as a result we've seen the release of a number of new products and services in a very short period of time. On the hardware side we have the new iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the iPad Air 2 and Mini 3, the iMac with Retina 5K display, and a preview of the upcoming Apple Watch. The software side has arguably been even more exciting with the release of iOS 8 and its first major update iOS 8.1, OS X Yosemite, and Apple Pay.
The theme this year appears to be integration and the power of a software and hardware ecosystem. Apple has always had some level of integration between iOS and OS X. As time went on, both operating systems began to share a core set of applications like Reminders, Calendar, and Notes. The iPad extended this even further by bringing the iWork and iLife suites to mobile. iCloud also played a key role in integrating both systems, by synchronizing documents and photos between all of a user's devices. However, the launch of iOS 7 with its visual and functional enhancements left many of the shared features and applications on OS X feeling left behind.
OS X Yosemite brings with it a massive visual overhaul, on a scale even greater than what we saw with iOS 7. This makes sense, as OS X is an operating system for desktops and laptops which makes it inherently more expansive and complex than iOS. Although OS X is not nearly as popular as iOS in terms of user base, the fact that the redesign changes some visual elements that have existed for over 14 years makes it quite a monumental moment in Apple's history. These changes finally unify the visual styles of both operating systems, which were once united but split with the launch of iOS 7.
The integration of these two operating systems goes far beyond a common type of visual design. OS X Yosemite and iOS 8.1 also include new features that allow them to work together in unprecedented ways. Features like Handoff blur the borders between the iPhone, the Mac, and the iPad by allowing you to continue work you began on one device on another. SMS and call forwarding takes communication abilities that were typically reserved for the iPhone and brings them to every device.
There's a lot to talk about, and it all begins at the aesthetic level with the new design of Yosemite.
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p_giguere1 - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
I think the main point of this article is to present an overview of what's new in Yosemite compared to its predecessor Mavericks.The negatives you would like to see mentioned are not new to Yosemite, they're limitations of the whole OS X platform when you put it next to other OSes.
It seems this article did not aim to analyze the whole OS X platform and whether it's a good OS choice, but rather tell existing OS X users what are the new features they'll get by upgrading to Yosemite.
I understand that may not be the kind of article you would have preferred, but the fact people make a big deal out of this to the point of attacking Anandtech makes the the complains hard to take seriously IMO. I feel some of the people calling Anandtech biased are not very objective themselves, and would rather see an article pointing the downsides of OS X just to validate their own decision of sticking with another OS, even though it would deviate from the original point of the article.
TEAMSWITCHER - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
It's you. Apple is THE premiere ecosystem provider, with smart phones, tablets, laptops, and desktops. There simply is no other manufacturer that comes close to the breadth of devices they sell...with the software that ties them all together....and a breadth of applications to make the experience worthwhile.If Anandtech didn't cover topics like this...I would remove my bookmark to their site.
at80eighty - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
mmm. tasty tasty kool-aidsolipsism - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
You've piqued my interest. If saying that Apple's OSes are the best for a unified ecosystem between disparate device categories has you pull out a Kool-Aid comment then what is inarguably better?I personally know of nothing and with Yosemite and iOS 8 ones ability to make a smooth transition between devices from one moment to the next without altering your workflow has been vastly improved. So, please, elucidate as to what combinations of desktop and mobile OSes are even more user friendly and efficient to setup and use?
ppi - Tuesday, October 28, 2014 - link
Well, Apple is certainly step ahead of everyone else in terms of integrating together devices made by Apple.The trouble comes when you try to plug in something else. Or plug an idevice to non-Mac (/waves to worst application on Windows, i.e. iTunes). And this OS X update apparently does little to nothing to improve in this direction.
So going Apple is basically all or nothing decision.
retrospooty - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
LOL. Now THAT is funny.invinciblegod - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
Good now you can leave since apparently anything positive about Apple is a corruption in journalism. Doesn't matter if it's any good or not because it is crapple and must be horrible and the only way they can have any fair coverage is if the site says it was made by the devil and should be destroyed for it's pretentiousness. Since you and people like you say the same things about every site on the internet that has positive apple coverage in it, I can only assume you are an apple hater for no reason other than the fact that they are annoying in their locking down on stuff or you hate steve jobs.sjprg2 - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
BOTH!michael2k - Monday, October 27, 2014 - link
It's just you. It's written by a Mac user, so it will be biased towards other Mac users. If you don't particularly care about iOS and Macs then this review will be like reading about the new Mustang when you happen to not care about cars.Brandon Chester - Tuesday, October 28, 2014 - link
For the record I don't own a Mac